Traveling with a local operator

This vacation is operated by a company based in the vacation destination and they will be able to provide expert local knowledge. They will be able to tailor make your vacation to suit your requirements not only concerning the dates of travel but also typically the standard of accommodation, and thus price. It is rare for local operators to be able to help with the booking of your flights.

Responsible tourism

Responsible tourism: Ethiopia vacations, tailor made

All the guides throughout the trip are locals who are well trained and with adequate experience. We purchase most of the items that are necessary for your stay, from local shops. You may also wish to buy gifts and souvenirs, weavings, and intricate creations and various kinds of handicrafts from the locals. The income they will earn as a result of your trip will have a great deal of importance for their children and families they support.

Most of the accommodations are owned and operated by the locals. They have put in place environmental conservation, water and energy usage, and economic policies such as employing local staffs and using local resources for the services they provide.

As part of an environmental responsibility, they participate in different initiatives like in '2 trees for 2000', a millennium initiative against the deforestation and land degradation in Ethiopia. It is a campaign that has helped the community to realize the importance of clean and green environment. They also protect the environment by giving away plastic bags to recycling agencies.

For you to have better knowledge of the trip we will provide you an accurate pre-trip information before the start of the tour. Also in order for you to have a good understanding of the places, the environment, and the local community; we will supply you with our Travelers Code of Conduct which is also supplied to our staff and local suppliers.

If you get some spare time at Lalibela, we recommend a visit to a local initiative which provides services in supporting and promoting disability prevention and rehabilitation. They have an income generation scheme and vocational trainings to help improve their lives. This small initiative also gives training to the community about personal hygiene and environmental sanitation.

As part of our environmental concerns, this trip will help us buy a few seedling trees in a way to support an initiative which is working with school administrations through planting vegetable gardens and nurseries. The idea is to raise environmental awareness among students and to teach skills on how to grow, protect and plant trees as well as vegetables for income generation or improved diets.

33 Reviews of Ethiopia vacations, tailor made

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Reviewed on 12 Jan 2018 by Ros Pennefather

Trekking in the Simien mountains for 5 days. Loved every moment.Read full review

Reviewed on 01 Jan 2018 by Ann Dieckmann

Reviewed on 21 Feb 2018 by Christine Hammond

The highlight was hiking in the Simien Mountains and the wonderful views at Lake Buonyi. seeing the mountain gorillas up close in Uganda.Read full review

Reviewed on 18 Dec 2017 by Jan Sawyer

The fabulous landscapes and seeing how these happy, friendly, people live.The children were delightful.Read full review

Reviewed on 14 Dec 2017 by Diana O

Trekking in the mountains near Laliebela and staying in the Community huts was the most memorable.Read full review

Reviewed on 21 Oct 2017 by Liz Delmont

It was the most fantastic vacation. I cannot recommend it highly enough. incredibly varied, amazing culture and history, stunning landscape and scenery,
really nice people and just an extraordinary experience. Read full review

Reviewed on 01 Mar 2017 by Kim Mahon

The Simeon Mountains where we were lucky enough to see 5 Ibex in one day with our wonderful interesting guide Desu ( who knew to much about the
flora & fauna of the country as he was born there!) and the Bale Mountains were we spent a very lovely afternoon walking through the forest with a guide
Hussain and saw so many animals Nyala, Reedbuck, Bushbuck and Wort hogs.Read full review

Reviewed on 29 Apr 2017 by Anne Stevenson

This went above and beyond all expectations. Such warm, beautiful people everywhere that we went. We ate well, saw and experienced incredible things: all wonderful.Read full review

Reviewed on 01 Mar 2017 by Tim Elworthy

This part of Africa was a fascinating insight into a hugely varied country of lovely people - many leading a very hard life in good humour and without apparent religious or ethnic conflict. Their welcome was invariably friendly and helpful and an effort to make us welcome.
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Reviewed on 09 May 2016 by Fiona Watson

Reviewed on 20 Mar 2016 by Alison Newman

Fantastic. Ethiopia is beautiful, ancient and dramatic. A sight to see around every corner. The vacation provider crafted our itinerary, provided some superb guides and ensured we experienced the country as more of a traveler than a tourist.Read full review

Reviewed on 28 Feb 2016 by Sally-Ann Shouler

Extremely good. Well thought out and very good value for money. Read full review

Reviewed on 28 Jan 2016 by katie gray

The three days we spent in Lalibela over Timket were extraordinary - but so was watching our guide in Harar negotiate for a can of camel milk in a local village. Read full review

Reviewed on 27 Jan 2016 by Elizabeth Treherne

We both loved walking in the Simien mountains and time time spent with the gelada monkeys.Read full review

Reviewed on 19 Jan 2016 by Roger Tubb

Excellent vacation, we saw some amazing buildings, paintings and scenery and met some really nice and helpful people.Read full review

Reviewed on 15 Jun 2015 by Noel O

It was most excellent. So many highlights to choose from however the Simian highlands and the Golada baboons were amazing. Go for it, sit back and enjoy!Read full review

Reviewed on 30 Nov 2014 by Barbara Kaplan

This was an incredible vacation. It was beautifully planned, by our agent, who planned every detail with precision and wisdom. The places we stayed were excellent, and the entire itinerary, designed specifically to our needs, was wonderful. Read full review

Reviewed on 06 Nov 2014 by Michelle Le Blanc

Go for it! The whole trip was brilliantly organised - ran like clockwork - and
thoroughly enjoyable from start to finish. Read full review

Reviewed on 26 Oct 2014 by Helen Spence

Although my tent living conditions were not 5 star, the experience was. Read full review

Reviewed on 17 Feb 2014 by Sharon Woodworth

Loved every minute of it! Camping and hiking in the Simiens. Traveling through breathtaking landscapes. The friendliness and hospitality of the people we met along the way but most of all our driver and guide who looked after us throughout the whole trip.
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Reviewed on 17 Aug 2013 by Fran Ellis

It was a fantastic experience for our whole family; the children coped extremely well with the change of culture and will have learnt a great deal from their experiences. They are looking forward to sharing their photos and thoughts with their schools. We are extremely grateful to Eskinder for his meticulous attention to detail, efficiency and organisation, and also to the fantastic guides...Read full review

Reviewed on 21 Oct 2013 by Stephen Osgerby

I can't speak highly enough of Eskinder and his team - organisation was efficient and all the guides were excellent. The only reason not to give it 5-star rating is that Ethiopian food is an acquired taste (that I haven't acquired)Read full review

Reviewed on 29 May 2012 by Scott Stanway

It was a dream come true, an absolutely fantastic trip and one I would take again in a heartbeat. Everything went well, from general organisation to travel to accommodation to the sightseeing itself. The agent, Eskinder, chose the best people in each town and made sure that everything was as good as it could possibly be.
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Reviewed on 04 Feb 2012 by Stuart Read

It's not easy to pick out any one thing that stood out above all else, this trip was a feast for the mind from start to finish. Itís now a good couple of months since our return and I've had time to begin digesting the memories. With that in mind, I guess it has to be the people we met along the way, so many wonderful people.Read full review

Reviewed on 16 Dec 2012 by Bettina Walsh

The Ethiopians themselves are the most memorable part of our vacation. They are genuinely kind people, passionate, proud of their heritage and country and fun-loving! Read full review

Reviewed on 14 Jul 2012 by Keith Cornish

The most memorable part was seeing the diversity of culture, history and geography in the north of Ethiopia. All places visited were special in their own way but Lalibela was especially stunning.Read full review

Reviewed on 07 Dec 2011 by Martin Sheldon

Lalibella was truly special and thought provoking, with a visit to Harer near the end of the trip the last piece of icing on this very large and expansive cake - what an amazing two weeks....such memories will linger on for the rest of my life!Read full review

Reviewed on 07 Mar 2011 by Andrea Bray

The scenery and the climate were spectacular, but the general feel of Ethiopia is great, much cleaner than I expected...Eskinder and the operator were great, they looked after us every step of the way, and we have some wonderful memories to keep.
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Reviewed on 25 Jan 2011 by Christopher Shann

Wonderful and at times challenging. We would certainly commend this vacation operator. They were efficient and caring at all times. In common with other operators they were let down by hotels they had booked in Lalabella and coped very well on our behalf.Read full review

Reviewed on 22 Dec 2010 by Anne Moir

Very well organised from logistics - not any single thing to improve on. Most memorable were the trek in the Simeon mountains - amazing scenery although tough trekking. The gelabi baboons were also wonderful - a rare treat to get so close to a wild animal. Also rock churches of Lalibella are definitely worth a trip.Read full review

Reviewed on 04 Feb 2010 by Barbara Gallani

Most memorable was driving through breathtaking landscapes, being on the "roof of Africa" with the Gelada baboons and experiencing the magnificent rock-hewn churches of Lalibela during Leddet.Read full review

Reviewed on 08 Feb 2010 by Jan Burgess

The travel arrangements were good and we were met at each airport by English speaking, local guides who were very knowledgeable and proud of their country's history.Read full review

Reviewed on 23 Nov 2009 by Clare Nicholls

The Simien Mountains were breathtaking and the lodge is a haven. Lalibela lives up to and surpasses expectations - we were very lucky to see two important festivals taking part in the churches - that was incredibly special to see the churches as living places of worship and not mere tourist sites. Read full review